Taake
...Doedskvad

If we could associate a sound with a sensation, listening to Taake we would most certainly feel a warm chill of cold.

The antithesis is by no means random: the feeling is that of experiencing a mild chill, not at all hostile but enveloping. Norwegians like most black bands, Taake releases a new album titled “...Doedskvad”, the deeper meaning of which escapes my knowledge. It is known, to those passionate about true black, that Taake uses only and exclusively the Norwegian language, enriched with archaisms and ancient terms that further enhance the musical and lyrical offering of this northern combo.

For some time now, they have been delighting us with a black that does not present a blind fury but is harmonious and at times extremely melodic: previous albums such as “Bjoergvin” (which apparently should be the ancient name of Bergen) or “Nattestid” are true lessons of pure black played in the old way. Thus, the foggy, dark, and gloomy atmospheres dominate, in a musical mix that at times is inspired by the fathers of the genre or the more recent proposals of bands like Carpathian Forest. The album, as is now customary for them, is entirely devoid of titles, with the songs distinguished by their number, usually Roman. It isn't hard for me to think of a sort of concept album since a certain concatenation between the tracks is noticeable.

The songs, or rather, these seven parts of a single work, all have considerable duration, never under 6 minutes of icy sound. The album immediately begins with a piercing scream that gives genesis to the harsh power of the guitars, in an almost anthemic progression, in a very rationalized and organized structure, to give way to a finale full of Nordic melody, acting as a total antithesis to the second part where great guitar work stands out. As I mentioned earlier, this work presents very interesting insights, thanks also to varied and suggestive atmospheres. A melancholic intro leads us into the fury of the third part where the classic riffs of a purely black origin stand out, which again lead to a finale rich in melodic solutions.

More monotonous and reflective (with almost Burzumian features) is the fourth part, unlike the raging energy of the subsequent part 5. As an interlude to the acidic cries, the sixth part presents us with an instrumental cold enough, a prelude to the seventh part, which in its nine minutes of length presents the band summing up the ingredients chewed up until now: sharp riffs embedded with good and noteworthy melodies, in an eerie-toned finale. Certainly, I cannot list this very good album among the cornerstones of the genre. But it has on its side a truly remarkable homogeneity and coherence.

Honest and well played, it is certainly an album that keeps the black genre alive, still giving it strong points of originality and freshness (or chill?).